Life and times of an amateur athlete and my adventures as a weekend warrior - including my successful completion of Ironman Canada Subaru 2009

Friday, May 15, 2009

Did someone say Spa Day?

Ironman training - is all about balance and time management. I have always been one to do a 1000 things at once - yep in the dictionary under Type A - there is a little picture of me.Last year when I said I was going to register for Ironman my father-in-law, god love him, said to me very seriously,” you are going to have to quit your job if you want to do this.” I took a deep breath and said there are women with children and full time jobs that do this don't be ridiculous. But there are times when I do feel like it is all a bit much. There are times I feel in a constant level of not exhaustion but stress/anxiety trying to juggle it all. I love my sleep and find when not working or training I will nap whenever I get the chance. I really believe that this is one of the best ways to allow my body to recover so I am good to go the next day and it seems to be working. Now though it is even tough to get naps in. I train 6 days a week a minimum of 2 hours a day - weekends are, of course, longer. I work full-time and while I don't have children I do have a gorgeous border collie who needs to be walked and played with at least an hour a day, usually longer. There the general house hold items – grocery shopping, cleaning, gardening and such and I have also for the last 9 years been very involved with the BC Lions Society working as a volunteer committee member for several of their big fundraisers and my responsibilities to this group are ramping up as we get ready for the biggest fundraiser of the year for them – The 24 Hour Relay, and until 2 weeks ago I was coaching/leading half marathon clinics. Rest day is Tuesday but lately does not feel like rest day – as that is the only day I can see physio, chiro and/or massage therapists so I still don’t get home until 7:30pm or so. And I seem to have a lot of social obligations and such that are cropping up. In behind all of this my best friend is pregnant with twins and is going to be a single mom. I am to be her birthing coach - or was going to be. As of the start of this week she is now on bed-rest at the local hospital and they could pull the boys out by C-section at a moment’s notice. My dilemma right now is this weekend - I am to go to the interior and ride portions of the Ironman course. I am driving up tonight, riding tomorrow with a group of ladies and then Sunday doing a brick and driving home Sunday afternoon. I need to get this training session in but I feel guilty because she is in the hospital and I feel I should be here. She assures me that she is going to chill and “ride” it out until Tuesday when the boys are 34 weeks but I am still worried. Thankfully mutual friends from the Shaunette’s have agreed to be on baby watch till I get back. With only 3.5 months left until race day I am trying to keep it all under control and in perspective. Fortunately while I feel a smidge overwhelmed coach says my numbers show that I am handling the training well – I just hope I can maintain.

I feel a spa day coming up. Now I just need to figure out how to fit it in....Shaun

1 comment:

no one deserves a proper rest day more than you do! you're doing so well on your training, you're an inspiration. and if you ever feel like just chillaxin', you know i'm always happy to make some dinner. :)

About Me

I am an IRONMAN. I set this blog up to share a little about my journey to Ironman but mostly to introduce you to some truly fabulous women I run and train with and possibly inspire a few of you to get off the couch and do something. My friends and I come from all spectrum's of life and all age groups some of us are faster than others, some of us are beginners, some are in their 20's, some in their 50's, some only run 10km, some do Ultra's (50km and over) but the one thing we all have in common is that we like an adventure, a challenge, to push the envelope, and to have a whole lot of fun while we do it. Oh and we never, EVER unless it is physically impossible quit! It is not about the time or where we placed it is about finishing what we started, supporting each other and inspiring each other to be all we can be, looking at task and saying How Bad can it Be? and then learning that it was pretty bad but we survived and then finding the next event or adventure and doing it all over again. Hope you enjoy the read. Peace out